Mid-career switch to banking and finance?

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Are you considering a mid-career switch to the lucrative finance sector? Thinking of becoming a private banker, or work as a financial analyst crunching numbers in an investment bank? Hoping for more money and big bonuses coming your way? Are you an engineer thinking of doing some finance courses (CFA, MFE, CMFAS, IFPAS, etc.)?

Think again. It’s probably too late if you’re already in your 30s. You should have started as a fresh graduate.

Even if you have all the “necessary qualifications”, why should they hire someone with no relevant experience?

Even if you are prepared to take a pay cut and start from ground up, why should they favour you over the hordes of fresh graduates who can do back flips? Moreover, you still gotta unlearn what you pick up in your previous jobs, whereas the fresh graduates are perfectly malleable.

There are some interesting discussions on this topic in delphiforums.

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6 Comments

  1. StoneTemplePilot on

    Do not listen to these negative impassionate people. Nothing is impossible, plan your work and work your plan and do not get distracted. Truth be told I just switched from IT to Research Analyst a little over my 38th birthday. Took a HUGE pay cut but its part of the game.

    Back flips ehh?!! The young pretenders might be able to do that, but try sending a pimply faced 23 yr old with a Harvard degree who lives with his mom and unable to spell mortgage to interview a CEO of a company….I wonder who the CEO will treat more seriously? An old pro with teenage kids to handle and half way through his 2nd mortgage with years of real life business experience under his belt or this pimple faced kid?

  2. Investment banks will pick the pimple faced kid. It’s just too hard to teach an old dog new tricks. Moreover, real life experience really doesn’t matter. It’s all about presentation, common sense and taking risks (sometimes BIG risks).

    No need to argue, just update us on your career progression in 3 years’ time.

  3. Its so amusing to read how deluded some people are. No one who graduated from Harvard undergraduate has any problems spelling mortgage. Many who live with mom live in huge houses in district 9 and 10.

    A question I do have for this old dog is if he’s aware he just got majorly screwed. There’s no way a mid career switch at 38 to research analyst back office job in banking can make up for the loss of income he incurs from the switch, compared to sticking to IT down the road. LOL.

    A lot of ignorant people out there think everyone works in a bank earns traders’ pay cheques and every bank employee including the ops people and tellers are called bankers.

  4. Do bank analysts interview CEO like press journalists? Don’t they just look at the annual reports and the markets? Weird person…

    analysts are only answerable to their employer. I don’t think they interview any CEOs as much as their CEO relies on them when making decisions.

  5. 38yr old Research Analyst newbie? zero experience?

    can u handle reporting to younger boss with 10yr experience? or dropping your ego to s**k it up to them?

    why would they employ someone who would be difficult to handle?

    get real…

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